Tutorial: How to embroider on fleece

inside: Check out this easy tutorial for how to embroider on fleece. All the details for adding embroidery to your next fleece project. Sew or buy a fleece item to embroider.

With cooler fall air blowing around Colorado this week I’m planning out all my cooler weather sewing projects. Cozy fabrics, fun sweaters and lots of pajamas are all on my list. Today I’m sharing some tips and a tutorial for adding embroidery to your next fleece project. Whether you are sewing a fleece project or have a fleece item you have purchased, adding embroidery is a great way to embellish any fleece fabric.

Embroidery on Fleece

Last fall I was asked to embroider the name of my friends girls club on a couple of jackets. I hadn’t used my embroidery machine on fleece before so I did some research on the best way to embroider on fleece. This post will share all the things I learned during the process. I ended up wanted to embroider all the fleece in our home after I did the jacket and I love how they turned out.

There are just a couple of things you need to do differently when adding embroidery to fleece than when you embroider on regular fabric. When adding embroidery to a plush fabric you want the thread to sit on top of the fabric, not sink too deep into it. This is the same idea as when adding embroidery to terry cloth towels.

Fleece projects to sew

I love sewing with fleece! Have you sewn much with this cozy fabric? It’s a fall/winter favorite of mine. Looking for source for fall/winter fabric? Here is the post I wrote about sourcing all my fabric. Places to by fall/winter fabrics. And here is a list of other projects to sew with cozy fabrics.

Supplies need to embroider on fleece

Here is a list of what you will need to complete this fleece embroidery project.

Fleece fabric or Fleece item
Water Soluble stabilizer
Sticky stabilizer
embroidery thread
Embroidery machine – I’m using the Brother VM5200 in this post

How to embroider on fleece

Start by gathering your supplies and deciding what you want to embroider. For this project I’m going to share embroidering a logo on a fleece jacket lapel. My good friend here is the founder of a Christian girls group called Vessels. I’ve been volunteering for her for years and this year my daughter is old enough to join and we both love it. If you are interested in starting a club at your church check out the details here. It’s perfect for crafty mom and girls!!

Start with a square of the sticky stabilizer, it should be bigger than your intended design. Peel and stick to the BACK side of your project. If you are planning to see the back side of your project {like the blanket} use TWO layers of water soluble as the backing. I prefer the sticky as it really holds the fabric in place, but two layers of water soluble will do the trick.

On the front side of the project place a layer of water soluble stabilizer to prevent the stitches from sinking into the fleecy fabric. This layer will give the stitches a puffy look on top of the fabric. Hoop the fabric and stabilizer, the backing should be within the hoop as well. Do not over-tighten the hoop or you may damage the fleece.

Prepare your machine for embroidery, I changed out the foot and also put the embroidery arm on the machine. Slide the hoop onto the machine.

Upload your design from where ever you are getting it from. Built in design, online purchase, Artspira App transfer, etc. I just used the built in alphabet for these letters. Move the needle placement to be where you want to start your design. Thread the machine with your desired thread color and start stitching.

Continue until the design is finished. Take the project out of the machine and remove the hoop. Trim the soluble stabilizer to less than one inch around the design.

Trim the sticky stabilizer to close on the backside and clip all the threads. Wet the front of the embroidery with a washcloth until the stabilizer is gone. You now have beautiful embroidery on fleece.